Last year for Christmas, Tory & I both got one of those genetic ancestry tests. Beyond your heritage it also shows health data and even if you may have preferences for certain things. We know that genetics play a role in certain taste aversions, like if cilantro tastes like soap to you. I love the idea that certain tastes and preferences can be passed down in your genes, its like a direct connection to your heritage – even if you are generations removed from a certain area. Maybe that’s why I love almond so much? It shows up in my favorite Swedish recipes that I got from Nana. Including my favorite, Swedish Kringler.
I don’t know why, but I think of Christmas when I think of this recipe. I made it a couple times growing up around Christmas time after Nana gave me the recipe but it certainly wasn’t a Christmas staple. Maybe it’s because of the almond reminding me of the frosting that Nana would send with Yulekaag. I suppose it doesn’t matter why I like this so much this time of year; I just do.
Swedish Kringler is a almond pastry with a buttery, flaky crust, almond filling, and a light almond glaze. It’s hard to describe if you don’t know kringler, but what I can tell you is that if you like almond flavoring, you’ll love this.
Here’s what you need:
We start by making the crust. I’m sure Nana cut the butter and flour together by hand, but for both speed and taking it easy on myself, I like to use a food processor. If you start with really cold butter, just a few pulses should give you a mixture the texture of coarse sand. Don’t let any pulse go too long because you don’t want the butter to warm up.
Then add about a tablespoon of water and pulse until the dough sticks together, like this.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and press the dough onto the baking sheet in 2 long strips that are 3 inches wide. Yes, I am a geek and I did use a tape measure, in fact this tape measure lives in one of the drawers of my kitchen.
Now it’s time to make the filling. Start by heating some water and butter in a saucepan until it’s boiling.
As you take it from the stove, immediately, add flour and stir until smooth.
The next picture is a little steamy, but you’ll see we’re adding eggs to a hot dough and without 3 hands it was the best I could do or the eggs would have scrambled.
Stir in 3 eggs, one at a time. Beating well after each addition.
Add some almond extract and stir together.
Spread the mixture evenly on both crusts.
Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes, check after 50 min. The filling will be lightly golden and have small cracks when it’s done.
Allow to cool.
To make the glaze just whisk together some softened butter, powdered sugar, almond extract and enough milk or cream a tablespoon at a time to get the consistency right.
You want it to be thinner than a frosting but not run off.
Let the glaze set for at least an hour before cutting.
- Crust:
- 1 c flour
- ½ c butter
- 1 T water
- Filling:
- 1 c water
- ½ c butter
- 1 c flour
- 3 eggs
- ½ t almond extract
- Glaze:
- 1 T butter, softened
- 1 c powdered sugar
- ½ t almond extract
- Milk or cream
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, pulse flour and butter until resembles coarse sand. Add water and pulse until dough just comes together.
- Press onto baking sheet in 2 long strips, 3 inches wide.
- In a saucepan, heat water and butter to boiling. As you take from the stove, immediately, add flour and stir until smooth. Stir in eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in almond extract.
- Spread filling evenly over both crusts.
- Bake 55-60 minutes, checking after 50, until lightly golden and little cracks form.
- Cool completely.
- Whisk together glaze ingredients in a small bowl, adding just enough milk or cream to get a glaze that won’t run off when poured over the pastry. Start one tablespoon at a time.
- Allow glaze to set for an hour before cutting.
This is more of a Norwegian recipe. They do something called birthday kringla. In Sweden make small kringlor that is more like a cookie with some lemon peel then dip in sugar (kringla is the shape like a traditional pretzel). We also make sweet dough recipe, vetebröd, into the kringla shape too. But the recipe you posted is most similar to Norwegian traditions. If you’d like more traditional recipes for sweet, I would get this book. My grandmother was a home-ec teacher for many years in Sweden and she purchased this book for all her granddaughters.
https://www.amazon.com/Swedish-Cakes-Cookies-Sorters-Kakor/dp/9153426843/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pdt_img_top?ie=UTF8
Hi There! I wish my Nana were still around to ask for a history of where her version of the recipe came from as all I have to go on is her handwritten recipe card. Thank you for the background and the cookbook recommendation – it is going on my wishlist – I have a slight addiction to new cookbooks and am excited to see what this has to offer. Especially one that has such as strong family tradition to it.
Hello, I got this recipe from a friend(neither of us Scandinavian) in 1982 and have made it just about every Christmas since. I’ve never seen it posted before. Usually I changed it a bit to make it more seasonal, with a thicker frosting thinned with eggnog, then decorated with red and green sugar. Always requested at the Christmas Eve family gatherings. All these years, I never thought to do the pastry in the food processor – so much easier, especially with your helpful photos. I also wondered why this was so different from the “Kringler” I remembered from my days in Wisconsin, which is more of a sweet yeast dough with filling and frosting, so I appreciated GSvensson’s comments.
I love the idea of adding eggnog to the frosting to make it more seasonal – I will need to try that out sometime! I had never had Wisconsin “Kringler” or knew the difference until I made this for a work holiday pot luck and got into a discussion with a friend from Wisconsin about it. I love how many ideas for food, history and traditions we get from each other!
Hi Dana! What would you say the finished size would be of this pastry?
Hi Karen! Each pastry is about 12 inches x 3 inches.
Urgent question!!
Can you prep the pastry I day in advance??
I would be doing everything but baking in one day chilling it for about 24 hours and then baking. Please let me know if this works
I have never tried doing that before but I think it would work. Just keep an eye on the baking time, you might need to add a little extra.
Thank you so much!!!
I put a damp cloth over it to keep the texture of the batter 🤞🤞
Let me know how it turns out!
Can it be made ahead & froze ?
I haven’t tried freezing this recipe before, but I have had good luck freezing pastries before. I typically wrap pasties in plastic wrap and then foil. Thaw at room temp.
I would consider freezing the glaze separately so it doesn’t come off as it thaws.